The Hawks will be in the mix to acquire a second star if one becomes available this offseason, Chris Kirschner writes in a mailbag for The Athletic. While Atlanta won’t have the cap flexibility to pursue top free agents, Kirschner expects the team to do its homework on a handful of possible trade candidates.
Several people within the Hawks’ organization wanted to acquire Ben Simmons prior to this year’s trade deadline, according to Kirschner, who suggests Simmons could be a player worth monitoring this summer. Given the way the 25-year-old’s season played out and the fact that he’ll be returning from back surgery, his price would presumably be even lower than it was at the deadline. However, there’s no indication at this point that the Nets are looking to move on from the three-time All-Star.
Here’s more on the Hawks:
- According to Kirschner, the Hawks will likely keep an eye on Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in case the Jazz decide to make major roster changes in the coming months. Kirschner, who views Gobert as a likelier target for Atlanta than Mitchell, has heard that Utah is fond of forward De’Andre Hunter.
- The Hawks will hold a pre-draft workout on Wednesday for the following six players, tweets Kirschner: Anthony Duruji (Florida), Tari Eason (LSU), Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Kellan Grady (Kentucky), Kameron McGusty (Miami), and Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga). Eason is the No. 16 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list, while the others are further down the board.
- Pointing to the comments recently made by team owner Tony Ressler, Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com explains why the Hawks look like a “must-watch team” this offseason.
Nets could luck out with several ill advised suitors for Ben.
Yep if I’m the nets and a good deal for Ben comes. I’m trading him in a heart beat.
Trade idea
Capela, Hunter, Okongwu and a future First for Gobert
Hawks keep all shooters
Young
Bogdan
Hueter
Collins
Gallo
Utah says no 100%
Hawks would be stupid to give up all that for a marginal upgrade
Trade idea
Collins, Okongwu for Simmons
Suggestion
Lakers can steal restricted FA Kevin Knox from Hawks
As I said before hawks wouldn’t do Collins for Simmons straight up
Sure you could trade Ben but I feel Nets are going to let him play so they can improve his value first. At least this time he won’t be Annie to claim it’s due to wanting to be in a different team
How can Ben raise his value even more by playing?
Dude is a multiple time All-Star, All-Defensive & All-NBA… hard to improve your value… unless you win the MVP, right?
He hasn’t played in over a year.
Past accomplishments only mean so much otherwise Dwight would be getting max money still and everyone would want Russ on their team
3 team deal:
Brooklyn: Jerami Grant and Danilo Gallinari
Pistons: Kevin Hueter and Onyeka Okungwu
Hawks: Ben Simmons
Gallo + Bogi is all I would give up for Simmons. Anything else hang up the phone. Simmons has major accolades but also major injury issues and mental health issues. And hasn’t played in over a year. His trade value is rock bottom right now.
I suspect that Gobert’s trade value is being overstated on this board to a significant extent. I like Gobert, and, unlike some, I think he’s worth his salary.
But the contract as a whole (5 more years at over 40 mm per year) is hardly a bargain, and pretty much precludes having cap space for a long while. Simply, a defensive C with limited offensive skills is a luxury piece in today’s game, as the team getting him still needs to put (or have) its offensive stars in place. I could a team like ATL (thinking they’re otherwise there) pursuing him, but not with all those assets. Specifically, Hunter, who might be their best 2 way player, has the premium combo F skill set and is the only plus defender they have on the perimeter.
The guy has a lot of 20p 20r games this year. Averaged 15p 15r. His screen assists are the best in the league for awhile now. He would help any team get more wide open looks.
If you want to see impact, just look at how the French team use him. The Jazz coaching staff has been very suspect lately. Seems Snyder was in hip pain enough to get surgery. Still, they don’t use Gobert very well lately. I would think he could have an even bigger impact on a better coached team.